The Phantom Legends
by Narri L
Summary: My first work! Two young boys are raised by a Mew until a Pokemon Hunter captures it! From there, it's a wild ride to get the Mythical Pokemon back! How will they fend for themselves during this adventure? Read it to find out! Hope you enjoy!
1. Disclaimers, Etc

I just want to get THIS disclaimer out of the way first: I own neither Pokemon nor Shin Megami Tensei/Persona. All of the characters that have fully defined names (the heroes) belong to me, everyone else belongs to their respective copyright owners unless otherwise stated.

I have been wanting to make a Pokemon/Persona crossover story for quite a while now, and I have the plans/guidemaps/whatever to do it. I haven't had much creative spark in trying to make it, however, which is why I've been heavily procrastinating this project. But meh, whatever, NBD. But now that my phone bricked (which does NOT mean it's broken, those are two COMPLETELY different things!) I lost all my progress on Pure Writer (I think). So I'm starting from scratch... AGAIN. Because I had no hard copy (because that's just a trashy, outdated backup plan, who even uses those anymore?!). Sooooo... yeah.

Occasional POV shifts will happen for each new hero introduced, but this will be semi-rare, at the least. This story is intended to be 49 chapters and an epilogue long, for a total of 50 segments (not counting this one). I'm really giving this one my all. I will always update the story as soon as I can, so I hope you stick around for everything and not just YEET out during the middle or whatever. (It's my first major project and I'm autistic/Asperger's, so don't judge me TOO harshly!)

* * *

All right, I think I've gotten everything out of the way. Away we go!


	2. 1 - Where It All Began (Who Am I?)

Disclaimer: I own neither Pokemon nor Persona.

* * *

"Who are you?" It's a simple question, yes? Oftentimes, you would get a name out of it... unless the one you're inquiring has amnesia or something. It really is a fun question. Sometimes, you may even get a title, a job, a residence address, a hobby... lots of things can be found out just by asking that one question... among other subsequent ones.

"Who am I?" This question is a bit more complicated. If you ever ask yourself that, you're probably in doubt about yourself and need some time to take a look at who you really are. Are you a criminal? A stuck-up? Someone who everyone likes for who you are? The list is just about as infinite.

...Or so I would assume. I can't really answer this question myself. Because, you see... I have no official past.

* * *

As I tumble along the floor like getting swept by a rough wave on the beach, I skid facefirst to a stop. Gasping for air was but a feeble attempt to stay alive. I immediately start coughing, a liquidy substance flecking to the floor with each cough. I knew instantly what it was. "Blood..." I say aloud.

A multi-voiced, maniacal laughter fills the void-like room I was currently in. I look up to see the demonic presence that I was currently facing. "Well, now... What are you going to do?" it asks me. "Are you going to behave and keep your end of this deal? Or will I have to tear your little squadron to shreds, just like the weak little Magikarp they are?!" Another roaring laughter emerges from this beast.

It was right, of course. I had nobody to side with to end this insanity. To my left were nine bodies of my former allies, who had been with me to seek out my purpose that I had sought. To my right, the other nine. And the very last member - my brother - lie literally within the psychic grasp of the demonic soul I was facing. I could hear his voice strain as he managed to squeak out, "D-don't... do it...!"

"SHUT UP!" the demon screeched as it twisted its grasp harder on him. Crying out in pain was the last thing he did before he, too, went out cold. I felt hopeless at that moment. Was there really nothing I could do to face a foe this grand-scale?

* * *

Pause. Yeah, I know what you're probably thinking: how did it ever come to this? Well, friend, that would be a step WAAAAAAAAY back in time. Back to my very first memory. in fact...

My true parents, I don't know them. They probably hated me or something, because they clearly abandoned me when I was an infant. I have no idea who they are or what they look like now, nor did I then. But then, when I was about 6 months old (or so we imagine) was the day that I met my future caretaker. You probably won't believe me when I say this, but... my caretaker is literally a Mew. Yes, you heard right, MEW. I'm legitimately NOT making this up, I am DEAD SERIOUS. Why I was adopted by a Mew, I have no idea. But for the same time span, it was just the two of us. Then, on the week on my first birthday, I was introduced to my brother.

Like me, Brother was also abandoned by society. There was one difference (other than appearance) between us - he had a name from his parents. But whatever it was, it's long gone now. He had been an orphan ever since I was adopted, or so I've been told. That is the main reason why his name had been forever lost in time. We referred to each other as "Brother" as we progressed through life, and Mew took to being the best caretaker ever. Over the course of time, we had learned to develop. Language, body control, knowledge... everything that was taught in what a normal person would call... "school", I think the word is...?

This went on for about 9 years, and then, the night after the week of our birthday(s), we somehow shared a dream. Don't ask me how, we just did... Anyway, we had seen a completely new figure that neither of us had ever seen before. It spoke out to us, saying: "Do not be afraid, dear children. I am the being of the highest order, Arceus. I have came to link your dreams together to share with the two of you very important information. In due time, your own caretaking Mew will be abducted. But fear not, for you two possess the power to keep it safe. Harness the power of Arcana via the two flutes you will find tomorrow." He then addresses us by looking in our direction. It turns to Brother first. "You, King, will take the flute of azure stone..." It turns to me. "...and Genesis, you will take the flute of rose quartz. May you find the Confidants necessary to complete this task. Farewell, and may you succeed..." 

...


	3. 2 - Arceus's Blessing

Upon having that ever-so-weird dream, we seem to have awoken at the exact same time. We were both sweating like crazy, as if we had a crazy nightmare. We had jinxed with each other about our dreams, and to our surprise, we had seen the same thing! I shifted back a little, and found myself hitting my wrist against something smooth. I turned around to see what it was. It seemed round-ish, but had a lot of holes, as well as a hole in what looked like the "stem". I had no idea what it was at the time. Nor did Brother, who apparently found himself in a similar situation. The difference between what we held were the colors. My item was pink, and his was blue. They both seemed to be made out of fine stone, though what stones they were, I couldn't definitively tell... That's when it hit me: these must be the "Flutes" that Arceus mentioned! But... what exactly IS a flute? Is it some kind of fruit? Because it sure looks that way... (AUTHOR'S NOTE: These Flutes actually look more like ocarinas, but whatever.)

I bit into it, and of course, it tasted like rock. Seriously, what was I even THINKING?! Brother giggled a little bit, and I shot him a look for doing so. The nerve of that kid can be so stupid sometimes. He took his Flute and blew into the stem-hole-thing. A pure note came from the holes. I took mine and did the same thing, only my note was different, a little lower than his. (A.N.: The secondary character played a C-natural, while our main character played a G-natural.) We didn't even have time to be confused as to why the notes were different before a sharp pang coursed throughout my body. And from the look of it, Brother had the same experience as I. That's when a voice flowed through my head.

"Thank you. We Legendary Pokemon knew that the two of you would take this case. This is extrememly important to not only the two of you, but of the entire Pokemon race as well. Everyone knows that Mew is the origin of all Pokemon, but lesser known is that killing it would be killing the Pokemon race as well. We must prevent that from happening, so... Let us form a pact... Genesis. We are kindred spirits, so we shall be one forever. Awaken with the power of the Omnipotence Arcana!" (A.N.: The brother went through mostly the same lines, but instead he heard, "Let us form a pact... King. (...) With the power of the Origin Arcana, Awaken!")

After that physically semi-traumatic experience, whatever it was, the pulsing in my heart finally stopped. Gasping for air, I was barely able to pick myself up because of so much physical exhaustion. When I was finally stable, I looked to Brother, who was still panting heavily on the ground. Helping him up, we decided to exchange information. We were surprised to learn that we had another shared experience, but with minor differences. At the point that we were done, Mew dropped by, carefree as ever. "Morning, kiddos! Ready for the day?"

We started to warn it about its coming danger the second we remembered it, but Mew held up a hand - or is it paw? - and simply said, "I already know. Arceus told me last night. And if what He said is true, then I know you guys will find me eventually. And by the way, I ask again... Ready for the day?" We looked at each other, shrugging, before unanimously questioning "Yyyyyes...?"

"Good! Then it's time to start training the two of you up!" Mew chirped. We looked at each other again. What the heck did it mean by that? But it continued anyway. "You two still have those stone Flutes on you, right? The Azure and Quartz Flutes?" We thought we knew what it was talking about, so we presented them to it. It nodded.

"Yep, those are the ones. First order of business is: you need to learn how to use them. If I heard those sweet tones earlier today correctly, you didn't cover any other holes while playing them?" We both shook out heads. Were we supposed to? "Fun fact about most wind instruments: if you cover the holes or press the pistons in a certain fashion, you can play different notes." It then proceeded to show us how to play the Flutes. We tried for about 3 hours and got fairly decent at them. But that was only the beginning of today's training!

After we had learned how to play the Flutes, we were then tutored on something we had never heard of - the PokeVerse. "The PokeVerse is a mysterious place where the true natures of people with distorted ambitions come to light. Only the bearers of Arcana, like the two of you - or Legendary Pokemon, like me and Arceus - would ever be able to know about this place. I can't really remember why, but I'm pretty sure there was something about mastering your own feelings somewhere in there, though. Anyway, special Flutes, like yours, act as gateways to this special world. Upon finding yourself there, you'll meet lots of hostile enemies, normally in the form of Pokemon. They are known as Shadows. They will stop at nothing to eliminate you, but beings from reality cannot be killed there. Instead, they are evicted from the world, forced to restart the next day here. To help get you prepared for this... I've decided to make fake Shadows and help you train with them to prepare you for the real deals."

And with a snap, a bunch of humans suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Though something seemed very off about them. Their eyes were glowing red, their colors were nearly all black, and they looked VERY unfriendly. But what put me off most off all was the weird masks they were wearing. Then Mew spoke up again.

"Taking off the masks of Shadows is a vital role in this. Once done..." It took of the mask of one, and it immediately liquified, only to return in a new form - the form of a Lucario. "...It will take a new form. At that point, you can attack it to make it disappear." Mew unleashed a Psychic attack on it, and true to its word, the Lucario disappeared, almost as if it had disintegrated. "Oh, and by the way, you two can unleash attacks the way Pokemon can. Check your own faces." Mew said, winking. I put a hand to my face, and found that there was a mask over it. I looked to Brother, and he seemed to have one as well! His looked like... Arceus? That seemed weird. But what was even weirder, he pulled the mask off, and blood started spouting from his face, as if the mask was part of it. His face, I mean. Then more weird stuff happened - a bluish-white aura came from around him, and it started to take form behind him... in the form of Arceus Himself. I felt like I was going crazy. And believe it or not, it gets crazier still. He somehow drew forth the power of the Arceus behind him, and with his own power, seemingly used Psychic on another Shadow, which had become a Riolu. The Riolu immediately faded off, and Brother started cheering. "WOOHOO! MAN, that felt good!" he cried.

Feeling a little late to the party, I ripped off my own mask in the same fashion. It felt like I was indeed tearing off my own face, just as I predicted. When I finally managed to get it off, I felt... powerful. Like I could take on anything or anyone. This confidence... I had never felt it before, but... I felt so ALIVE, in a way I never would have expected. Then a whole bunch of information flowed through my head. "Psychic. Aura Sphere. Flamethrower. Dazzling Gleam." Were these the moves that I was capable of? I immediately decided to try my hand on a Houndour that looked fairly weak. Knowing my Types, I went for an Aura Sphere on it. The rush of using a Pokemon move on my own for the first time was... exhilarating, to say the least. After 2.5 more hours, Mew decided that we were done with training for today. Lunchtime!

We fast-forward to the present year, a little over 5 years after our introduction to the PokeVerse. By this time, we were about Level 10 each, assuming we started at Level 1. It was around lunchtime when Mew decided to finally teach us WHEN to use the Flutes, and what we would do. "Let's see... If I recall correctly, using the Flutes to enter someone's PokeVerse would require... Oh, yeah! You'd need a name, a real-life location, and what the person sees it as or how it relates to them. For example, someone who is obsessed with money may think of someplace as a bank. Optionally, you could also throw in an associated organization. I think the local one is Team... Flare, I think? That would suffice as a Keyword. Use Keywords before playing the Flutes!" We seemed to have gotten an understanding of that.

"I just have one question..." said Brother. "Both in our dream, and when we heard those voices after playing our Flutes, we were addressed as 'Genesis' and 'King'. Why is that?"

"Sharp ears there, kid," Mew chirped. "Well, you definitely heard right. That's what we Legendaries have decided to name you both. We don't want you to be nameless forever, ya know!" At first we didn't know how to feel. But once we did, we knew EXACTLY what to do next. But before that ever came around, a huge "BOOM!" shook the entire area. We all cried out, including Mew! "Oh, come on, please don't let this be the day!" Bro... no, KING cried. I then heard a woman laughing. She sounded rather... sinister.

"Finally. I've found what I've been looking for." I looked up to see a Salamence with someone on its back. I couldn't really tell who this person was, her face was covered by something. "Time to rake in virtually every Poke in the world." Who was this? She aimed her arm towards Mew, and some loud noise sounded off. Next thing I know, Mew had been turned to gold! How is that even possible, right?!

The Salamence swooped in, and the woman got off its back. Clutching our caretaker in her hands, she said to us, "Tough luck, kiddies. Next time, keep your Mythicals in their Poke Balls." King and I looked at each other, confused. A what ball? What even was that? But before we had the chance to ask, she hopped back on the Salamence and was gone within ten seconds, sinisterly laughing all the way.

King actually growled as she left, but then collapsed into tears not five seconds later. I mean, you can hardly blame him. We were doing so well to try and keep Mew safe, and then we looked like complete CHUMPS as it got taken away from us. What else could we have really done? I started to cry too. After a while, though, it dawned on me that maybe we weren't supposed to save it IMMEDIATELY. Thinking back on it, it actually boosted my confidence a little. I decided to reveal my thoughts to King. But he shook his head and said, "That's crazy! We were supposed to protect it, and we failed!"

"I don't think we were supposed to save it immediately."

"H-huh?"

"Think back to Arceus' words."

"What... What do you mean?

"He never said we would prevent it."

"...! Th-that's right... He didn't, did He! Maybe we're supposed to get it back from that woman!"

"Exactly."

King finally stood up and nodded. "Y-you're right, Bro- uhhh, GENESIS. We need to find out where to start looking for that jerk and take back our caretaker! Thanks for the boost!"

We decided to set off for the neighboring human village to search for someone who might be able to aid us. (A.N.: Specifically Geosenge Town, in Kalos.) Here's to hoping we can find someone who will... Wish us luck, everyone...

...


	4. 3 - Tasukete! (Help Us!)

We finally arrived at the nearby human village. There were many different structures there, most of them looking about the same. However, there was one in particular that really stood out – the top of it was red, and it had a design I had never seen before. We decided to start our search for help there. There was an unusually large amount of humans, so I guess it's safe to say that most of them didn't live there. There were many places that were for people to be occupied, however, which was a pretty good sign. Maybe there was someone who came here regularly for whatever this structure was supposed to be for. Our theory was proven correct when we found a rather cheerful person with red hair and white clothes. Surely this person must know something, we thought. (A.N. – If you haven't already guessed, they're at the Pokèmon Center.)

We tried to tell them what was going on, but they looked at us like we were wild Pokèmon asking for human food. When we noticed that, we fell silent, and the person spoke in a sweet high voice. "Sorry, but… I can't say I understand what you two are saying at all. Anyone could easily mistake you for Pokèmon with noises like that…" This took us by surprise – had we really been using the language of Pokèmon rather than humans all this time and not even known it? Just then…

"Relax, Nurse Joy. I'll take it from here. Let me worry about them."

All three of us turned our attention to the front of the structure and saw a new person standing right behind us. They had dark hair and sea blue eyes. Their clothes were like nothing we had ever seen before!

"Ah, you again. Here to beg me for a job again, Oliver?" asked the red haired person, sounding less than pleased.

"Well, I WAS, but seeing these two fussing in Pokèmon language gives me… other plans. And please, it's Ollie," the other replied. Turning to face us, he then added, "If you two wouldn't mind confiding in someone who can understand you, like me… I'll hear you both out."

Upon recognition of our troubles needing to be heard, we took his offer and sat down at a nearby area. I think it was called a bench…? Anyway, we told the person our story, and they stayed silent until we finished.

"I see… so, if I'm hearing correctly, you two have been raised under a local Mew for as long as you can remember. Earlier today, said Pokèmon's been snatched by some Hunter and now you're trying to track them down. You came here to Geosenge Town to try and find someone else who might be able to help. That about the right message?"

We were in awe – he had understood us amazingly! The person continued. "I doubt it would be best to ask a Nurse Joy for help – those girls are just medical experts. If it's searching for someone is what you want, I'd take it to an Officer Jenny. But the thing that concerns me there is that your guys' backstory about being raised by a Mythical Pokèmon might not fly with any of THEM, either… On a side note, you said something about Flutes?" I think that last question was directed at me.

We showed them the Flutes. Their mouth was open larger than a Gulpin when they saw what we were holding. "You're kidding… The Azure and Quartz Flutes? Where did you get those insanely rare items?!" They practically shouted that as they slammed the… table, I think it's called. Next thing I know, everyone else was looking at us. Upon taking note of that, the questioner coughed. They sat back down and spoke in a lower voice.

"Sorry. I've never actually seen treasurable objects like these in person before. But seriously, where did you find them? Start from the beginning of that."

We continued to tell them everything. They listened very normally until we mentioned the Pokèverse, and then they looked shocked. We stopped to let them speak. "N-no way… That exists?! I-I thought the Pokèverse was just a figment of some fiction writer's imagination!" (A.N. – Am I breaking the fourth wall by saying that? I'm not sure… XD)

After finishing everything we had to tell, they fell silent. But a bit later, they finally spoke again. "The way you described the hunter… I think I might actually know her. Unless I'm mistaken, you just described a hunter who goes by just 'J'. Nobody really knows her true identity, but that's what she calls herself. If you want to take her down… I want in on this."

?! Me and King could barely contain our emotions. On one hard, we were excited that someone wanted to join our cause. On the other hand, surprise and confusion for joining us so suddenly. Was this person forcing themself on us? And why did they want to help us so eagerly, either? "Uhhhhhhh…" we both said.

The person wasn't one to be inconsiderate, apparently. "Oh, uh… Sorry if it feels like I'm intruding on anything. But I kinda want payback for that huntress as well. She once stole all of our prize Miltank livestock. I can't forgive her for that. Please, let me take her down with you!" After all that determination we could feel from him, how could we say no? We learned that the person's name was Oliver O'Zoek, but he preferred to be called Ollie for some reason. At that point, a voice echoed in my head…

"My power is thine, and thine is mine own. Thou hast acquired a new Confidant. It shall strengthen the will of rebellion that thou hold within to reunite with thine caretaker. With the birth of the Rebirth Arcana, thou can be granted even more aid that will eventually grant thee infinite power…"

That reminded me of that dream… Didn't Arceus say something about Confidants or something? What did it all mean, though…?

"Welp, time to get cracking!" The voice of Ollie had interrupted my thoughts. But what he said was rather confusing. Get cracking at what? Noticing my (probably obvious) bewilderment, he said, "That dream you had did say that you can change distorted people with the Pokèverse, right? I know the perfect place to start… I think. You two trust me enough to follow along?"

Well, it probably won't be getting us to this "J" character, but at least we'll be ready once done… possibly. We followed our new friend to an old, rusty structure that wasn't any taller than the previous one.

"Feels like it's been forever since this building was abandoned…" he said. "It used to be a place where people would use Legendary Pokèmon for some kids and of weapon or whatever. But I think that changed about a decade back. Some hero or heroine and their friend stopped the guy behind it. But that evil guy… I wonder where he is nowadays…?"

King just looked at me, and I returned the response. Our thoughts were interrupted again. "You said that those Flutes take you to the Pokèverse when you play them after saying some kind of keywords? Name, location, distortion and optional organization?" That sounded about right.

"Well, I think I have three of them from this building already. Name: Lysandre. Location: Laboratory. And group: Team Flare. All we need is a distortion, right? I mean, assuming this will work… Try 'war'." Nothing happened. "Okay, uh… Weapon?" Still nothing. We tried castle and research, still nothing. "Well, I got nothing. Still, I'm sure it must stem from that ancient weapon… The one that caused ruin over 3 millennia ago… Wait. Try 'ruin'!"

This time, something DID happen. Our heads pounded, and the atmosphere around us felt… off. About ten seconds went by before Ollie said, "W-W-W-What in the world?!" We turned to face him, then looked at the "laboratory" and… there it was. A huge, clean "building" with metal walls and towering height. At the top shimmered a huge crystal stone of something. "W-Was that th-there before?!" Ollie said, sounding pretty scared. Just when we were about to help him calm down…

"Hey! Over there!" A distorted voice came from the front of the "laboratory". We turned to see a figure dressed in white, but the skin color was abnormally black and the eyes were glowing red. Then it hit me – this was a Shadow entity. Just then, about ten more in red suits followed. They had us three surrounded on all sides in no time flat. "Restrain them!" said the one in white. That was the last thing I remembered before getting a whack to the back of the head.

…


	5. 4 - Talent at Good Use

When I finally awoke, I was still a bit dazed. The first thing I noticed upon my vision clearing up was that I seemed to be in some kind of confinement. I didn't see King or the other person anwhere, though, which probably meant that they were elsewhere within the area. Still, that didn't mean that my first instinct wasn't to escape wherever I was being held. I look to the front of the area to see that the barrier was actually rather frail. I decided to loose an Aura Sphere to it, and it surprisingly worked. The "door" was destroyed, and I was free.

Upon doing so, however, I was immediately blocked again, this time by two Shadows in red, one of each gender. I had then remembered what Mew had told me at the beginning of our training. I proceeded to leap atop their shoulders and rip off their masks. After dissolving, they became a Glameow and a Poochyena. Fighting them off with Aura Spheres (and a Dazzling Gleam when the Poochyena lived the attack), I had won the battle. They happened to have dropped what I think was money. I decided to take it with me.

I heard King's voice call out to my left, and I followed his voice to another room far from mine. We probably met each other halfway from where we started. We clutched each other close, and didn't stop until we heard someone's throat-clearing from my right. We looked to see the other guy, Ollie, standing there with his arms folded. "So, you guys gonna let me out, or...?" he asked. Embarrassed a little, we did.

"Thanks," he said once we finally freed him. "You guys are way nicer than those other Grunts... Wait, now that I look at you two, are you guys the same ones who dragged me into this world?" I guess it would have been pretty hard to explain the masks if he didn't know much about the Pokeverse... Then again, we don't know about the masks either... "Yeah, upon closer inspection, it's definitely you two. I'm... honestly kinda diggin' the outfits. Really makes you two look real cool!" Flattery probably wouldn't help us get out of here, but at least it was good for morale!

"Anyway, we should probably find a way out of here. Who knows when those Shadows are gonna come back? Especially since they might know we're free... Let's go the way Genesis came. My direction was just a dead end," stated King. There was hardly any room to object. So I turned back, while the other two followed me. Arriving at another "door", opening it was very easy. I just turned some kind of wheel-like item on it, and pushed. When that didn't work, I tried pulling it, which did work. There was a large hallway waiting for us, with a room at the end that we could see far off. There were some Shadows there, too, which was very unfortunate. We knew taking them down was our only option.

After fighting our way through five rooms, five corridors and about 7 Shadows, we arrived at a much larger set of two doors. It felt like a powerful presence was beyond the doors, but we went through anyway. Upon entering this large new room, however, there was no apparent opposing force, even after looking around. Were they hidden? And then a voice rang out.

"Well, well, fellow Admins. What have we here? The intruders have escaped...?"

The voice sounded as snide as "J" when she took Mew. We turned towards a large staircase to see four more girls, each with different colored hair, headed right down towards us. One of them had orange hair, another had blue, and the ones with green and purple were linked arm-in-arm. They all had weird specs that matched their hair colors.

"M-muh?! I... I thought these four disbanded?!" Ollie cried out. He obviously knew something about these girls that we didn't.

"Please. As long as the Pokeverse exists, we four will always be together, in the mind of Leader Lysandre. Isn't that right, Bryony?" asked the one with purple hair.

"Exactly, Celosia," replied her green-haired partner. "This isn't the real world, after all!"

Ollie tilted his head in confusion. "Um... Isn't it, though? I mean, you girls are most DEFINITELY real. I can see you and everything..."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong," said the snide-sounding one, who had orange hair. "All of us are actually just mental images of Lysandre's way of seeing us. Shadows of our real selves, I guess you could say." So THAT'S where the term comes from. "Maybe capturing them was a bad idea... Maybe we should battle them instead? What say you, Mable?"

The blue haired Mable nodded. "Perfect idea, Aliana. Shall we, then?" Each of them became a different Pokemon - in order of first name, they became Mightyena, Liepard, Manectric and Houndoom. (A.N. - Aliana was the Mightyena, Bryony was the Lipeard, etc.)

Fighting them was actually pretty bad of an idea - they were stronger than what we've faced so far, and they were outnumbering us, too. There was simply no way the two of us could take them down alone. We eventually lost. Brought to our knees, we were about to faint...

"Ooh, down and out. Guess you kids aren't so tough after all!" Aliana teased.

"Pathetic," said Celosia and Bryony at the same time. Mable just silently shook her head.

"Welp, you two had a good run. See you in the otherworld~!" chirped the former. Just when things were about to head too far south...

"This is madness."

Every head turned to Ollie. He was looking down, and his fists were bared. I think he was even slightly shaking, possibly out of anger. "I will not let you take out my new friends. There's no way I can just sit back and watch you four kill them. If it means protecting them, I... I'll fight. I'll take all of you out... for their sake!" No sooner than saying that, his eyes went wide as he clutched his heart area...

POV SHIFT - OLLIE

It felt like fire was burning away at the inside of me. It was an indescribable feeling, but it felt like something really similar. A voice rang out in my head the whole while...

"Indeed. It is against your place to have them die on you. If you cannot take care of them, how will you ever be able to take on caring for other Pokemon? Let's try and make things right, by taking down those who oppose your beautious goal. We are kindred spirits, so we shall be one forever. The power of the Rebirth Arcana is yours for the taking... Seize the opportunity to keep their power at bay, and keep your teammates alive!"

POV SHIFT - GENESIS

"RrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHH!"

Tearing away a mask of his own, that same bluish-white flame bursrt over who would right then be our saving grace. Out of the flames came another Mythical Pokemon... Genesect. I was absolutely stunned. I had never seen another's Awakening before. Probably because it was the first one I've seen at all, and missed King's because of my own. But to see another with the same power as us... Incredible...

"Right on... I have my own Pokesona!" Ollie said in a powerful voice before turning to the four Shadows in front of us. "Ladies. Let's try this again. And this time... We'll win. LET'S RAVAGE THEM, GENESECT!" And right then, our battle was a lot less one-sided as we joined up with him, fully healed somehow.

One winnable fight later, and the four Shadows were brought to their knees, all at the same time. They all cried out in agony as they collapsed to the floor, begging for mercy. "Sorry, but we don't take kindly to those who oppose the light side. Let's go!" cried Ollie. But before we would be able to finish them off...

"What's going on here?"

Another turn of the head revealed a large man with orange hair like Aliana's. Only his was spread out like a pair of wings or something. He had a really sullen look to his, and he was dressed mostly in black. He stepped casually down the stairs and stopped at the base of them. "Ladies... I'm disappointed. Losing to a few intruders who look rather weak in terms of general power... Shameful."

Panic spread throughout the Shadows as they lined up and bowed very deeply to him. "SORRY, LYSANDRE!" they said sadly, and in unison. This Lysandre... He must be the owner of this Pokeverse branch. Then again, that WAS the name we used to get here.

The man turned to us and said, "Although frankly, I'm surprised that there was someone who actually managed to stumble onto this plane of thought in the first place, much less three. How exactly did you arrive here?" We were about to answer him when Ollie shouted, "NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, DESPOT!" Awkward answer much?

"Hmmm... I guess it really isn't my business, is it?" he asked to seemingly nobody in particular. But he then shook his head and said, "No matter. As this Palace's ruler, I simply cannot allow you to parade around and find the source of my desires just so you can stop me from any further action. As such, I must eliminate you from this plane. Leave."

The second he finished that short monologue, a huge number of Shadows appeared around us save for the direction that probably lead back to the real world. Seeing that there was no way we could take on this many at once, we decided to leave.

POV SHIFT - READER(?)

"Do you think they'll come back?" -Mable  
"Probably. But maybe it's for the best." -Lysandre  
"For the best? What are you saying?" -Aliana  
"You're planning something, aren't you?" -Mable

"...It's nothing. For now, we should upgrade security to protect my Treasure." -Lysandre  
"YES SIR!" -everyone else, who then leave  
"...Genesis, King, and Ollie, huh...?  
"I wonder what the future holds for them... Will they become like that one guy who was here before them...?" -Lysandre

SCENE SHIFT - REAL WORLD

A girl sees the trio coming out of the lab.  
"! Th-they... explored the old lab? How?  
"That place was supposed to have been sealed for years... How did they even find a way in?

"This requires further investigation. Maybe the next time they'll drop by, I'll give them a quick interrogation..." -?

POV SHIFT - GENESIS

"Huff... Huff... Well... Looks like we're... finally out..." heaved Ollie as we returned to the real world. "I never thought... the Pokeverse... would be so... draining. I can hardly stand, and... my muscles are KILLING ME. Ughhhhh..."

"Yeah, it's hard to get used to..." agreed King, who was perfectly as fine as I was. I just nodded in silence.

"Jeez, I bet things would've gotten way uglier if I hadn't stepped in to help you guys. I couldn't just leave you to die, though, which is why I did what I did. Sorry if I was too much trouble," Ollie said, sounding a little better.

"No problem. You did what you wanted to do, and that was save us. That's a win in my book," said King.

"I'm just glad I was able to help. But man, do I need rest. It's probably about 7:45 PM right now. I promised Mom I'd be home by 9. We can probably resume our dungeon-crawling tomorrow. Let's meet back here in the morning, say... 8:15? See ya then, hopefully!" He then jogged off without our say in this. That night, we had another unified dream of Arceus.

"Well done, both of you. You had obtained the will of a Confidant who is willing to aid you in your mission. Strengthen bonds with various others like you two to form tight bonds for the inevitable final battle. I wish you the best of luck as you take on this first high-rank battle..."

Just then, King disappeared from them dream, leaving me all alone. "I believe that Confidant called you 'Genesis'? A very fitting name. I would like to bestow upon you a new power. When you exploit enemy weaknesses, you have the chance to barter with them. If lucky, you can make their power your own. I'll give you the power of six for now, but even more down the line. May you fare well with this new power..."

...


End file.
